Google Blogspots redirecting to fake Bhutto assassination videos

A number of Google Blogspot pages that promise video of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto remain active today, security researchers said.

Alex Eckelberry, president of anti-malware provider Sunbelt Software, said users searching Google for video of the assassination may click on what appear to be legitimate Blogspot pages but are redirected to sites pushing fake codecs.

If they click to install the codecs – said to be needed to watch the video – their PCs are infected with malware that will change DNS settings and hit users with pop-up ads to purchase fake anti-spyware products, Eckelberry told SCMagazineUS.com today.

“Blogspot has become a pretty good haven for these guys these days,” said Eckelberry, who began spotting similar attacks several months ago. “These Blogger pages are supposedly well optimized for Google, and it’s places (for attackers) to land, just like (Yahoo) GeoCities and other free hosting sites.”

Meanwhile, researcher Tom Mercado, who runs TeMerc Internet Countermeasures, told SCMagazineUS.com today that he recently noticed a much more alarming type of attack on Blogspot that can infect users without any interaction on their part.